Sealing equipment for wrapping machines



Aug. 4, 1936. M. A. STICELBER SEALING EQUIPMENT FOR WRAPPING MACHINES Filed Dec. 16, 1955 INVENTOR M r/171 A Jficelelz ATTORNEYS Fatented Aug. 4 2%36 SEALHNG IEQEJIUPMIEN'H ll dlillt WRAYPPHNG MACMNIES Merlin A. Sticelber, Kansas (City, Mo. Application December it, was, Serial No. taste it @laims.

ping machines having offset conveyor belts that combine with side plates so that a portion of the faces thereof are on a common plane with the plates for the purpose hereinafter more fully set down.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a series of package sealing plates and a series of package conveying belts that are arranged so as to permit the passage of the packages being sealed through the said sealing equipment without the use of force exerted from one package to the other and in such fashion as to permit the packages to remain in spaced apart relation during their trip through the sealing equipment. 7

Heretofore when loaves of wrapped bread or other packages have been passed through package sealing equipment, a certain amount of force has been exerted upon a group of packages with detrimental effect. It is desirable to pass loaves of wrapped bread or similar units through the sealing equipment individually and without the exertion of force in any way whatsoever.

Disposing belts and cooling plates in the manner contemplated by this invention permits the passing of packages through the equipment as a unit, and while the invention may be embodied in such machines as shown in the accompanying drawing, it is obvious that the ideas forming a part of the invention may be built into conventional types of wrapping machines without dificulty. In the drawing:

Figure l is a top plan view of sealing equipment for wrapping machines made in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal, sectional view through the same, taken on line IIII of Fig. l, and,

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section through the machine, taken on line III-III of Fig. l. I

All of the parts of the-equipment are mounted upon a suitable frame 6 and a horizontal belt 8 I carried by any number of suitable rollers it mounted upon frame 6 forms a portion of the bottom of the passageway for the loaves of bread it indicated by dotted lines in Fig. i. "the pee (Gil. 593-2) maining portion of the bottom of this passageway comprises the lower cooling plate it, having associated therewith cooling coils it that are included in the refrigerating system diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 1. These coils it are joined to compressor it by a conduit and coils 22 disposed in operative relation with cooling plates 2d are likewise in the refrigerating systern and are in communication with compressor it and coils it by means of tubes 26 and 2t. 10

The circuit for the refrigerant is completed by joining together coils 22 through the medium of a conduit it.

Side plates 2d are in opposed relation and on- 4 set with respect to bottom plate id. Side plates it are mounted upon bars 32 and these bars are movable toward and from each other for the purpose of varying the width of the passageway. 1

The means for moving bars 32 is in the form of a threaded shaft 3d, journalled in frame 5 and movable by the application of a wrench or suitable crank to squared head it formed on each of the several shafts it. Obviously, right and left hand threads should be used to engage brackets 33 and lateral adjustment through the medium of shafts it will be effective in moving all of the side wall forming parts of the equipment as a unit.

Eelt 8 extends from the wrapping machine to a point just beyond the ends of opposed side plates 2d and this belt serves to move the wrapped packages it along between vertical plates 2d; The seals at the ends of packages B2 are solidified as they come in contact with plates 26 and thereafter the seal at the bottom of each package it. is solidified by contactingbottom plate it. It plates it and side plates it were not in ofiset relation, it would be impossible to conveniently move the several packages 62 therealong without exerting a crushing or compressing force.

The diverted side belts dd are mounted upon end rollers t2 and ofiset intermediate rollers dd. These intermediate rollers divert an intermediate portion of one stretch of belt at so that it passes behind the proximal plate 26 for a part of its path of travel. The portions of the inner stretch of belt tit which extends longitudinally from the ends of each plate 2% are in a plane with plate and serve to move packages it toward and from plate 2d and toward and from that portion of lower belt 8 lying between side plates 2d. Brackets it support rollers tit and brackets it carryrnain rollers 62. These brackets are mounted upon bars 32 auct ons of brackets dd is adjustably mounted thereon so that when belts it are not to be diverted with respect to plate 24, the distance between end rollers 42 might be increased without difliculty.

A number of advantages other than those mentioned herein are present when using sealing equipment of the character embodying this invention, and while one exemplification has been shown and described, it is desired to be limited only by thescope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. Sealing equipment for package wrapping machines comprising a pair of opposed plates having cooling means associated therewith; a package conveying belt between said plates; and a continuous package conveying belt having a stretch thereof extending longitudinally from each end of each of said plates respectively to move packages onto and off of the portion of said first mentioned belt between the plates said belts each having means for diverting the portion intermediate the longitudinally extending stretches to the rear of its respective plate.

2. Sealing equipment for package wrapping machines comprising a pair of opposed plates having cooling means'assooiated therewith; a package conveying belt between said plates; and opposed package conveying belts extending lon- -gitudinally from the ends of said plates to move packages to and fromthe said first mentioned belt between the plates said first mentioned package conveying belt terminating between the ends of said opposed package conveying belts.

3. Sealing equipment for package wrapping machines comprising a pair of opposed plates having cooling means associated therewith; a package conveying belt between said plates; opposed package conveying belts extending longitudinally from the ends of said plates to move packages to and from the said first mentioned belt between the plates; and a second plate, having cooling means associated therewith, between the belts which move the packages from the said opposed plates.

4. Sealing equipment for package wrapping machines comprising a pair of opposed plates having cooling means associated therewith; a package conveying belt between said plates; opposed package conveying belts extending longitudinally from the ends of said plates to move packages to and from the said first mentioned belt between the plates; and a' second plate, having cooling means associated therewith, between the. belts which move the packages from the said opposed plates, said second plate and first mentioned belt being in end-to-end relation, in a common plane, and forming the bottom of a package passageway.

5. Sealing equipment for package wrapping machines comprising a pair of opposed plates having cooling means associated therewith; a package conveying belt between said plates; opposed package conveying belts extending longitudinally from the ends of said plates to move packages to and from that portion of the said first mentioned belt between the plates; and a second plate, having cooling means associated therewith, between the belts which move the packages from the said opposed plates, each of said first mentioned plates and certain stretches of the package conveying belts that extend lon gitudinally therefrom being ,in a common plane and forming a side of a package passageway.

6. Sealing equipment for package wrapping machines comprising a pair of opposed plates having cooling means associated therewith; a package conveying belt between said plates; opposed package conveying belts extending longitudinally from the ends of said plates to move packages to and from the said first mentioned belt between the plates; and a second plate, having cooling means associated therewith, between the belts which move the packages from the said opposed plates, said Second. plate and first mentioned belt being in a common horizontal plane and forming the bottom of a package passageway, each of said first mentioned plates and the package conveying belts that extend longitudinally therefrom being in a common vertical plane along one side and above said bottom of the passageway to form one side of the said passageway.

7. Sealing equipment for package wrapping machines comprising a pair of opposed plates having cooling means associated therewith; a package conveying belt between said plates and co-operating therewith to form a package passageway; and an endless belt having a portion thereof extending longitudinally from each 'end respectively of each of said plates respectively, each of said belts having a portion of its face always in the same plane as the face of the proximal plate on each side of the said plate to move packages toward and from the plate and onto and off of the first mentioned belt.

8. Sealing equipment for package wrapping machines comprising a pair of opposed plates having cooling means associated therewith; a package conveying belt between said plates and co-operating therewith to form a. package passageway; and an endless belt having a portion thereof extending longitudinally from each end respectively of each of said plates respectively, each of said belts having a portion of its face always in the same plane as the face of the proximal plate on each side of the said plate to move packages toward and fromthe plate and onto and off of the first mentioned belt, said endless belts each being provided with a series of supporting rollers serving to divert one stretch of the endless belt to one side of the adjacent plate.

9. Sealing equipment for package wrapping machines comprising a pair of opposed plates having cooling means associated therewith; a package conveying belt between said plates and co-operatlng therewith to form a package passageway; and an endless belt extending longitudinally from each end respectively of each of saidv plates, each of said belts having a portion of its face always in the same plane as the face of the proximal plate on each side of the said plate to move packages toward and from the plate and onto and off of the first mentioned belt, said endless belts each being provided with a 'series of supporting rollers serving to divert a length of one stretch thereof intennediate the ends toward the other stretch of the belt whereby to provide space for the associated plate.

10. In sealing equipment of the character described, a pair of opposed seal cooling plates; an endless belt associated with each of said plates respectively; and a series of rollers supporting each belt disposed to divert an intermediate length of one stretch of that belt toward the other stretch thereof to provide space for the associated plate.

MERLIN A. STICELBER. 

